


This Boy's in Love

by ang3lsh1



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Everybody Lives, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Ryoji is a dork, except Ikutsuki and Strega, no deaths apply here, post-canon AU, that DJ AU we were taking about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-01
Updated: 2014-05-01
Packaged: 2018-01-21 12:32:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1550582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ang3lsh1/pseuds/ang3lsh1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ryoji some how points Minato in the direction of becoming a DJ after high school. Also known as five times Ryoji flailed over Minato and one time he didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Boy's in Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nieniekoto](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=nieniekoto).



> For **nieniekoto** , congratulations on passing that test, here's your long awaited Minato as a DJ fic!
> 
> Thank you to **kageillusionz** for the quick beta. Title comes from the same titled song from The Presets.

It was Ryoji who gave Minato the idea of what to do with the rest of his life.

“I mean you’re always listening to stuff, and I’m pretty sure you’d be able to mix your own beats. I’ve seen the turntables and everything when I was over the other day,” he’d pointed out, leaning back against the window, twisting slightly towards the track field where the girls were in the middle of practise, calling out, “Yukari-chaa~n.”

Minato was slouched over his desk, hands in his pockets, staring morosely down at the blank career form on his desk with one headphone off, the thumping bass still audible.

Given his grades, he probably should be aiming for something higher: doctor, engineer or even a lawyer perhaps. But then again, after doing everything for everyone else, wouldn’t it be nice to actually do something for himself? Besides, it was rare for Ryoji to make sense, but when he did, his intuition was usually spot on.

Miss Toriumi almost had an aneurysm when she read his paper, with only one career option listed: ‘DJ’.

* * *

When given a task at hand, Minato always excelled. It didn’t take him too long to learn how to mix his own beats, and after awhile he found that he prefered to use mp3s, easier to carry and much more to create with.

By hook or by crook, Junpei managed to turn the traditional culture festival bonfire dance into a rave and Minato found himself in charge of the setlist. Also he suspected that the only reason why they managed to get away with this was that both senpais had graduated and Mitsuru-senpai was too preoccupied with dealing with the board handover to come back and visit for this year’s culture festival. He’s also not too sure how they managed to let it fly past Odagiri and the rest of the student council, with blacking out the school’s gymnasium windows and installing the UV lights.

He suspected Ryoji had a hand in it. Though so long as he’s getting paid for it, he didn’t mind too much; it’s not like he can mooch off the free accommodation from the dorms forever despite Mitsuru-senpai’s words.

There was no way he could have missed Ryoji, wearing those ridiculous shutter glasses and his ridiculously long, trademark yellow scarf, when he came in through the gym doors. He had no idea Be Blue V carried those things in neon yellow. As Ryoji slowly made his way through the crowd, stopping to flirt and dance with all the girls, Minato distracted himself by syncing up the next track.

When he looked up, Ryoji was standing over him, holding both ends of the scarf up. “They weren’t available in Be Blue V, I actually had to go over to Croco*Fur in Okina City, but it was worth it! Now you’ll be able to see me all the time!”

He should be irritated, if he weren’t so charmed, so he hid it by ducking down under the pretense of turning up the current set, trying to still the flutter in his chest that just grew stronger with Ryoji’s wide smile.

***

After the school rave, the owner of Club Escapade offered him the part-time job of DJing over the weekends. Apparently she had been at the rave and she liked what she heard; once again he suspected Ryoji dabbling in this, but money is money and every bit counts in between juggling school work and upcoming exams.

He was in the middle of his first set when Ryoji came into club with the rest of the gang, still wearing that infernal neon yellow scarf. He could hear almost hear Yukari now, eyeing Ryoji skeptically _‘You’re going to die in the club. Strangled to death by that very scarf, Especially since it’s Friday night and the club is packed.’_

But to everyone’s surprise except Minato, Ryoji survived and evidenced by the lack of red handprints on his face, managed to charm most of the girls in the club.

He knows Ryoji doesn’t really mean anything by it, still used to the idea of trying to be a ladies man; he knows that that was largely thanks to Ryoji buying the club a whole round of drinks to celebrate Minato's first official set. But watching him in the club surrounded by a throng of people made something in his chest twinge in jealousy.

He drowned that by turning up the bass, making it reverb throughout the club, driving the mood higher in the club.

Eventually Ryoji made his way over to the stage where Minato was, all bright-eyed and flushed from the heat in the club, flailing about with the ends of his scarf. Minato couldn’t tell if it was from the high of the atmosphere, the drinks he had all night, or the fact that he was just damn happy to see Minato in his element. He wants to think it’s the latter. And is proven right when he finished his set, dragging Ryoji out of the club by his collar as he called out, “G’nite ladies, I’m going home with mah man now,” still flailing with his scarf.

Or maybe he was just really drunk.

***

Although Gekkoukan High had an elevator system, it still didn’t hurt for Minato to have an edge over his peers. Besides, who knew what the future held. The best way to prepare himself was to get his grades up and keep his options open for other entrance exams.

Of course, knowing that idiot Ryoji, he probably hadn’t thought of anything past next week for himself. Minato suspects partly due to how uncertain the world felt at the start of the year, not even sure that Ryoji would even be allowed back on this plane past that fateful New Year’s Eve.

So Minato hauled him to the library after school to start on super intensive tutoring sessions, in which Ryoji flailed again over how amazingly smart Minato is. Minato had to literally clamp his hand over Ryoji’s mouth before Chihiro came over to tell them off.

***

In between university, Minato still managed to DJ part time at Club Escapade, drawing in a steadily growing crowd on the weekends despite not much advertising by the club.

An email notification that one of the DJs he had been following from his high school days had followed him back. Which lead to the discovery that Ryoji had stolen his long defunct twitter account. He’d been using it to spam with nonsensical things about his day and when his next sets were going to be at the club, he called it managing for Minato, when really, it was just another excuse.

His follower count jumped steadily and when stolen photos by Ryoji of him working at the turntable or other candid shots of him asleep at his desk or eating ramen of all things, the number of female fans jumps. Soon enough through retweets and mentions, he finds himself steadily trending enough to get verified and garner attention from larger clubs. Minato was a little skeptical at just how easy it seemed but when an indie label came knocking at his door, talking about contracts and who was he to argue with results?

The interview at Chagall Cafe went smoothly enough for him, though Ryoji was much more excited about it, vibrating in the other seat, twisting the corners of his scarf over and over in his hands from nerves.

When his new official manager left with a newly minted contract, Ryoji pounced on him and there were celebratory selfies trending again.

***

It came as a surprise when Minato woke up one morning under the kotatsu with Ryoji snoring lightly beside him, dawn just peeking through the thin curtains; they really should get proper blinds, before realising that they didn’t actually live together. Which was silly because really, Ryoji had been part of his life longer than everyone else. Literally, from Thanatos to Pharos to finally as Ryoji and it’s not like he’s actually showing any signs of leaving.

A small part of himself wanted to resent him. For being the catalyst to everything. From his parents’ death, for being the very reason why he was orphaned, to forcing him to take up the mantle of saviour and putting him through all of Tartarus.

But because of him, he has a family: the senpais he looked up to, whom he could seek advice from, both Junpei and Yukari that he could rag onto anytime, both Aigis and Fuuka as confidantes, Ken as a younger brother and even the family pet, Koromaru.

He’d broken from the coffin in which he had placed himself in, he had made friends, he had learnt the value of striving for something even though in the beginning it did seem fruitless with the apathy of most high schoolers. Because of Ryoji he’d been given and given so many precious things that there’s nothing to resent him for. What he’d been given is so much more. And it makes him want to stay with him for longer.

Which was the exact moment that Ryoji decided to wake up and blearily utter “Mornin,” while wiping the sleep from his eyes.

“We should move in together. You’re here just about every day anyway. We can save on rent too.” Minato blurted out, before he can change his mind.

Ryoji went from half asleep to wide awake as he launched himself across the table. It was still amazing that the silly scarf didn’t catch on anything that would strangle him, the kisses that pepper all of his face moreso.

***

“Na~ Minato, I can’t find my phone, can I use yours to update your twitter?” Ryoji called out from the den.

Minato paused in between stirring the pot and tasting the miso, “Sure, if you can find it.”

“Already found it, Thanks.” There was the audible click of his phone being unlocked and the shutter of the camera going off, coupled with Ryoji’s off-key humming that suddenly trailed off.

“What’s wrong?” Minato trails off as he turned off the stove, turning to face Ryoji still in the den, who was staring intently at the phone. 

Ah crap, he’d forgotten that he too had a photo album of candid photos of Ryoji. Nothing racy but really just a cache candids of him asleep at the table, laughing at Junpei’s stupid jokes, most of them unguarded moments. He braced himself for Ryoji’s usual tackle, but instead he was still staring intently at the screen, scrolling down slowly as the blush started seeping down his ears to the back of his neck before slowly rising up his face.

It was a rare occasion to find Ryoji utterly gobsmacked and without words as he lifted one trembling hand to cover his mouth. As Minato took one step forward that broke the tension, except that instead of launching himself in his arms, he dove in the direction of their bedroom instead.

Startled Minato quickly follows only to find Ryoji huddled beneath their covers. He climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arms around that mound, “You silly idiot, don’t you know by now I feel the same.”

The response was muffled by the duvet. Exasperated, Minato pulled the covers off to expose a ruffled Ryoji who was still bright red and gaping slightly, “You never say anything.”

“Yea, well,” Minato rolled his eyes, “I thought action speaks louder than words.”

He leant forward to kiss Ryoji and proceeded to show him with actions just exactly how much he meant to him.


End file.
